New to Blu: TV & ‘Toons > November 13-19

Monsters University gets a monster release with two Blu-ray discs: one for the movie, audio commentary and short, the other for more than 90 minutes of HD extras.

“Monsters University is a Blu-ray stunner … While I may personally prefer the 3D version, the film’s 2D incarnation is another example of reference quality high definition.”

“This is how it’s done, folks. Perfect video. Perfect Dolby TrueHD 7.1 surround.

“And a generous supplemental package (presented entirely in HD) to top it all off.”

“Like the visuals, Monsters University delivers perfection in terms of its sonics.”

The week’s other major release also is an epic ‘toon.

“Fox has given Epic an absolutely flawless 3D 1080p/MVC (at 41 MBPS) encode in a 2.40:1 aspect ratio.

“Animation is always the best format for 3D Blu-rays and Epic is no exception.”

In 2D, “sharpness is outstanding, and colour is spot on throughout with greens (of course) really being handled especially well.

“But there is something about the image quality that keeps it from leaping off the screen like the best high definition transfers do of CGI animated films.”

“Sound is good, too, making great use of the score by Danny Elfman (Edward Scissorhands).

“The best of the extras is the featurette, Mysteries of Moonhaven Revealed, in which the animators go over the complicated process of bringing the movie to life.”

There’s another animated release as well this week is Cartoon Network’s Regular Show.

“Regular Show: The Complete First & Second Seasons features a pair of strong 1080p/VC-1 encodes that present the series in a whole new light.

“There are a few minor issues, most inherent to the animation and its digital source — intermittent, barely there banding and negligible aliasing — but none of it proves distracting in the least.”

“The high definition image quality of this wonderfully hand-drawn show looks really very good.

“It displays a richness in detail and overall look that I enjoyed.”

The most anticipated TV-on-Blu release since the previous season of Breaking Bad, Fringe – The Complete Fifth & Final Season, earned mixed reviews.

“Much like its predecessors, Fringe: The Complete Fifth and Final Season arrives on Blu-ray with a strong but less-than-ideal video presentation with a few notable flaws.”

“Contrast looks a tad crushed at the bottom end, but it lends the images a starkness that suits the season’s dystopian tone.

“Fine object detail in fabrics, and skin textures in particular, are excellent; however, scenes in higher contrast environments reveal slight edge haloing.”

Nonetheless, “the visual improvement here between the first three seasons and the fourth and fifth seasons is pretty impressive and most anyone with good eyesight will notice the impeccable amount of detail and obvious lack of film grain.

“There’s a tiny bit of digital noise visible from time to time but nothing too significant.”